[plug] "Linux makes it so easy to create a supercomputer."

[Leon Brooks]

    http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,59573,00.html

    Demeter is the name of the American Museum of Natural
    History's supercomputer. Built by biologist Ward Wheeler
    from off-the-shelf parts, the Linux cluster is now ranked
    the 107th-fastest computer in the world on the Top 500
    supercomputers list.

    [...]

    Wheeler said he opted to build his own computer because he
    wanted to get the best performance "bang for the buck."

    "It's relatively simple to build a computer -- takes 15
    minutes and about 12 parts," Wheeler said. "We bought the
    parts wholesale and assembled it in my office. The next
    day we connected the computers into a cluster.

    "The computer project has certainly grown over the years,
    but the real innovations that made this possible are the
    concept of cluster computing and the Linux operating
    system," Wheeler added. "Linux makes it so easy to create
    a supercomputer."

Cheers; Leon